Cullen, Charlie, and Clumsies
by SkinnyLove
Summary: Short, one-shot. Co-written with Scampfish. A wee peek into the early relationship between Charlie and Edward.


Just a little thing co written quite a while ago with Scampfish.

None of them belong to us. Sadly.

Review!

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I took up my regular position against the bonnet of my car, on time, as usual. I glanced up at the window, expecting to see a twitch of the curtain, her rosy-cheeked face, with her soft smile beaming down at me from the window, but there was nothing.  
She still hadn't peeked from the window ten minutes later.  
My insides trembled as I realised what this meant. Letting a long breath escape my nose, I took the few short strides to the house, and stepped onto the porch.  
I stretched my arm out from as far away as possible to ring the bell.

The door opened almost as quickly as a Cullen had responded to the summoning sound.  
"Edward." Came the gruff, familiar voice.  
"Chief Swan." I replied, my tone treading the fine line between polite restraint and sucking up.  
"Bella is running a bit late today. You can head off if you want. I can drive her into school if her truck isn't up to it." He coughed awkwardly, his moustache almost trembled.  
It was all too clear to see that he wanted me to leave now. I didn't even need to read his mind to be able to see through his words to their true meaning.  
"I can drive Bella in - And I need to go to La Push to see Billy - Bella and Jacob can have a chance to talk."  
I smiled at him, again despite the mention of The Blacks, also wary of appearing too eager or friendly when he was acting so frostily towards me.  
"It's okay, I don't mind waiting."

I took advantage of the step Charlie had taken away from me to edge one foot over the threshold, showing him I was determined to wait, and also in case he decided to slam the door in my face, as he was seriously considering.  
Charlie looked at my foot and then to my face, onto which I had managed to place a friendly smile.  
He was muttering profanities at me as he sighed and slumped away from me, back to the sofa.  
I closed the door, and glanced up the stairs as I made my way towards the familiar sounds of a televised game.

Charlie and I both shot our gazes to the ceiling as we heard a substantial bang, followed by a squeal of 'Crap'.  
I suppressed a laugh, and faced over my shoulder, pretending to be looking around the room as I caught his thoughts.  
I agreed downright with the idea of a helmet. But the suggestion pitched to Bella was shot down mid-flight, and teamed with a scowl.  
"Take a seat" Charlie grunted, with a light gesture to the chair.  
"Thanks" I replied, and swiftly sat down.

A lighter bang punctuated the already loaded silence as we both stared at the TV, and then at the ceiling.

"How is the family?" He asked, looking at me for a moment. His mind was full of images of Carlisle, and Alice.  
"Very well thank you, sir."  
He flinched at the word 'sir'; more malicious questions were summoned into his head.  
My breathing slowed as I waited to see if he would dare ask me them.  
"Glad to have you home?"  
I nodded, and met his gaze.  
"And they haven't grounded you?"  
Charlie would apparently have fitted me with an electronic tag so I couldn't physically leave the house after a curfew if I were his son.  
I shook my head. "No, sir, my parents don't believe in grounding us."  
He let out a long breath between his teeth, and only with my hearing did I catch what he said "and I never believed in capital punishment"

Another crash-bang came from the landing, and a repetitive bumping down the stairs.  
I jumped to my feet and over to the stairs as Bella's bag slumped to a stop as it fell off the last step.  
Looking up, I saw her gripping the railing, her feet four steps ahead of her body.  
"Are you okay?" I asked her, unable to cover my laugh.  
"I… rushing" She breathed, before blowing her hair from her face.  
I climbed the stairs and helped her to her feet, ensuring she made it to the bottom of the stairs in one piece.  
"You okay Bella?" Charlie asked, more concerned by the company than her fall. I kept my hand supporting her as his eyes attempted to separate us.  
"I'm okay, Dad" she huffed, picking up her bag. "Just woke up late" she replied, and shot him a grin, before she grabbed my hand. I saw Charlie swallow, and ignored what he was saying.  
"You're gonna be late for work…" Bella breathed.  
"Yeah" Charlie grunted, before turning off the TV. He pulled on his coat, and grabbed his keys. "See you after school, Bells." Charlie added shortly, reminding Bella of her grounding.  
"Yes, dad."  
Charlie gave a nod, and left the house.  
"You're tense" Bella turned to me, squeezing my hand, much the same as I had been doing.  
"Sorry… I didn't even realise…."  
She smiled back at me and tip toed to kiss my lips gently, still always scared.  
I managed to give her a deceptive smile.  
"We are going to be late,…" she said, looking at the clock, and leading the way through the door.

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